Basic fact about drunk driving: virtually anyone can be charged

There are a number of notable facets surrounding a police stop and subsequent treatment of a Colorado motorist suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol.

The novelty of the experience and sheer anxiety associated with it, for example. A DUI encounter is a first-time experience for most drivers, and it is understandably frightening. The flashing lights, the direct questions, the blood-alcohol and/or breath tests, the potential for being handcuffed, sent to jail, criminally convicted and subjected to truly harsh exactions -- these things are unquestionably adverse and even life-changing.

And then there is this: A DUI stop can target any driver in the state, without regard to status, occupation, gender, race or any other specific attribute.

And police officers too, who sometimes find themselves responding to rather than initiating DUI-linked roadside encounters.

A Colorado media report chronicles just such a story, reporting the impending sentencing date of a state sheriff's deputy who was arrested last year while on duty. That individual was recently found guilty in a jury trial on charges of DUI and carrying a weapon while intoxicated.

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